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US Navy artillery’s range now triple that of Russia’s naval guns

The US has managed to extend its artillery range to 50 km with its new Excalibur N5 shell. The shots were fired from an MK45 Mod. 4 ship-based artillery system, which has a basic range of 15-16 km. However, long distance shots are typically less accurate and lead to an overexpenditure of ammunition.

The new 127 mm shell was developed by Raytheon, and has been equipped with a special GPS navigation system, which enables it to be accurate despite the range boost to 48.1 km. Satisfactory results were reported during the most recent tests.

A Raytheon representative said that the MK45 Mod. 4 gun has obtained the ability to hit targets at a distance three times greater than the range of the AK-176MA, the most modern artillery system in the Russian Navy’s possession.

The latter system was based on the AK-176, which has been in use since 1979. The modified version can fire up to 15 km at a rate of 124 shots per minute. One of the primary differences from the American MK45 is the AK-176MA’s 76 mm caliber.

Another big difference between the Americans and the Moskali is the Americans announce military improvements AFTER they are developed, not 15 years before.
So, the 1979 Moskali 76mm might hit something at 15km and then cool off, while the US fires 127mm shells at a rate of 124 per minute….with GPS guidance. Time to move a couple of these ships to Mariupol? :))

The Russian soldiers Nikolay Zverev and Alexey Chebanov will have to pay the state treasury 31 million rubles (nearly $500,000), according to a ruling by the Crimean Garrison Military Court, which partially upheld a lawsuit by the Russian Defense Ministry. The court ruled that the defendants’ actions caused damage to the state, and found them guilty of breaking the rules for handling weaponry that poses a heightened risk to the surroundings (§1 Art. 349 Russian Criminal Code). Chebanov will have to pay 15% of his salary to the state, Zverev 10%. Disciplinary penalties have already been imposed on the soldiers which limit their eligibility for promotion for a certain time, Kommersant reports.

According to the court verdict, on October 1, 2017, the aviation unit technicians were using an “Oka” system to inspect the condition of aerial guided missiles, including two X-29TD missiles. These missiles were on board a Su-30SM heavy multirole fighter which had recently made a flight. Chebanov and Zverev violated the operating procedures, neglecting to verify that the check mechanisms of one of the missiles were in working order. The moment current was applied, the ignition cartridge was triggered, and an air-to-surface missile (roughly 4 m long, weighing around 700 kg, of which the explosive accounts for 100 kg) flew out of the launcher. No one was injured as a result of the uncontrolled flight, but significant material damage was caused: the projectile destroyed the hangar’s gate and part of its wall, various equipment and another missile of the same type. The incident occurred in August 2019 at a military airfield in Saky, Crimea.

Both missiles had to be written off, each of which cost an estimated $289,000. The Oka system and other destroyed equipment was valued at around $150,000. The soldiers were sued for a total of $728,000.

The military court later reduced the damage to $635,000 after dismissing some of the plaintiff’s claims.

The defendants argued that, taking into account the date when the missiles were commissioned, they should be worth much less than $289,000 each. The court dismissed the argument, citing the experts’ conclusion that the price of a missile remains unchanged until it is written off. During the preliminary investigation, the defendants paid a small amount of compensation, leaving the damage caused by each of them at $317,500. The court found extenuating circumstances, including damage through negligence, and reduced the claims to $234,000 against Zverev and $250,000 against Chebanov. They must also pay the Simferopol budget approximately $1,000 in state fees.